Blogs from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia - page 13

Very long bus journey indeed to Madurai. Well, four hours but it seemed longer as more and more people piled in and it got hotter and hotter. Luckily I was by a window so got a good breeze, poor Natalie was at the aisle and had people leaning and bumping into her the whole time. After arriving at our grubby hotel, we cleaned up, had lunch, then visited the Sri Meenakshi temple where we were shown around by a guide. Sarah got dizzy and had to sit down shortly after we went in but was okay after sitting for a few minutes and having some Mountain Dew. Think she was a bit de-hydrated as not been drinking as much water as had been. The temple was beautiful but could not see all from outside due to ... read more

Not too much to say about that, it just cracked me up. It's the title of the DVD that I won for most accurately pinning the (demon) tail on Malinowski, the founder of modern anthropology (and, of course, a rather racist Imperialist too). I tried to convince my sisters that we should watch it instead of Mummy 3 the other day, but I failed. I guess Lindy Jones just didn't sound exciting enough. Not that it mattered anyway, since the power went out the moment we started watching. More on that later. So, things are good! I've been shamed into writing again by a friend who is managing to write in his blog every day. I'm not promising anything, though! I'm continuing to settle in. I wore my first sari yesterday! (Pictures coming soon, I promise. ... read more

Got up early in the morning to check out the temple again since Heather, Dan and Becca wanted to see the temple in daylight while John and Nikki decided to sleep little longer. After a small incident where I had to call the cops (surprisingly cops were very attentive and helpful for the tourists) we went into the temple and took tons of picture in the daylight. I would say Tanjore temple is one of the very well maintained temple in South India. Did some shopping and we headed back to the hotel in auto rickshaw since we ran out time. I got some traditional Tanjore toys for Ritika. John and Nikki were ready and waiting for us. We had breakfast got into the van and headed to our next destination - Madurai. On the way ... read more

Passant des montagnes de Kumilly à 1 500 mètres de hauteur, jusqu'aux plaines du Tamil Nadu au niveau de la mer, la première chose qui saute aux yeux après les kilomètres de bananiers, c'est la température. Le mercure oscille entre 42 et 45 degrés celcius et le soleil affirme clairement sa puissance titanesque. La bourrasque provoquée par cet autobus qui descend a toute allure vers Madurai nous brule la peau plutôt que de nous rafraichir. Quand l'on s'arrête pour entasser un peu plus de tamils dans le véhicule déjà bonde, les jeunes mendiants alertes par la seule cible blanche en vue, font monter de quelques degrés supplémentaires notre température déjà très élevée: "money, money, soap, pen!!!" Dans cette carcasse métallique arrête en plein soleil de midi, au prise avec 4 enfants accaparent et très insistants, le ... read more

Sairaana. Kuume kavi eilen jo lahella 40:ta astetta. Nyt parempi, vaikka heikottaa ja kehkoja pakottaa. Helvetin pelottavaa olla yksin sairaana toisella puolella maapalloa ilman voimassaolevaa vakuutusta. Toivottavasti ei ole mitaan pahempaa, koska sairastelin mystisesti useampaan otteeseen jo Vattakanalissa. Ensi viikolla pitaisi olla viimeinen etappi Chennaista Mumbaihin, mutta junat on taynna koko ensi viikon, joten lipun saanti on vaikeaa. Koneessa pitaisi olla perjantai-aamuna, muuten jaan tanne. Paljastetaan myoskin, etta viisumissani on ehka ongelma, koska en ole noudattanut ns. 90-paivan saantoa ja tiedusteltuani asiaa suomen suurlahetystolta, he kaskivat kaantymaan FRRO:n puoleen. Olen yrittanyt saada vastausta FRRO:lta, mutta tuloksetta. En siis tieda onko kyseessa ongelma vai ei. Pahimmassa mahdollisessa skenaariossa mua ei paasteta maasta ollenkaan pois. Mitakohan sano... read more